Confetti Popcorn

Well here it is.  The much anticipated Confetti Popcorn!  This is a recipe I found on a great blog - Nest of Posies.  

It is oh so good and easy to make.  

I originally make this for the kids, however, the adults quickly took over the treats -- they are that good!

All you need is three ingredients:  

• Popcorn 
• Wilton's Candy Melts 
• M&M's

Pop the popcorn.

Melt the candy melts.

Pour the melted candy melts over the popcorn and mix well.

Add the M&M's.

And mix some more.

Lay out on parchment paper to dry.

Then package up! 

 You can find the full details at Nest of Posies --  Valentine Confetti  -- I love the idea of using different colour M&M's for different occasions.

I made these for our annual Christmas party, and as all our Christmas decorations are blue, I used just the blue ones!

This definitely is a keeper!

Now that's Creative!

Toffee Cake

Christmas baking is in full swing now.  Pecan Toffee made and packaged up, Shortbread cookies well on their way and now for the Toffee Cake.

This is an old family recipe from my husband's aunt.  It was given to me when we first started dating as a "test" -- well, I managed to make it and happy to say I passed the "test" despite the fact that the recipe was from England and the measurements and temperatures were all a little different...........All I have to say is thank God for Google, because I now know what gas mark 3 is!!!

This starts off with a shortbread like bottom, covered with home make toffee and topped off with chocolate.  It really is to die for, it is so rich and good.

Star off by creaming the butter til smooth

Add vanilla

 Add flour

Press in pan and bake 

Then, make the toffee

 Until nice and golden

Pour over crust

Melt chocolate and cover once toffee sets

Let chocolate set, cut and package up!!!

All ready for my Christmas Gift Baskets!

 

Now that's Creative!

Chocolate Bowl

Our Christmas party is fast approaching and I am always on the look out for new and different ideas.  I came across how to make a chocolate bowl.

It really had the WOW factor and thought I would fill it with chocolate covered strawberries.......yummy!!

Well, the instructions looked very easy and the end result was very elegant, so I thought I would give it a try.

Goal:
This is what the bowl SHOULD look like

Chocolate Bowl

However, this was my disaster..............

Step 1:
Blow up your balloon and set it in a bowl.

Making Chocolate Bowl

Step 2:
Melt your chocolate and pour over the balloon so it drips down the sides.

Making Chocolate Bowl

Making Chocolate Bowl

Making Chocolate Bowl

Step 3:
Let the chocolate set, and do this a few more times alternating white chocolate with milk chocolate.

Step 4:
Create the base of the bowl.  Pour a good amount of chocolate and then invert the balloon on a piece of parchment paper to form the base of the bowl.

Chocolate Bowl

Step 5:
Once this fully sets, pop the balloon and the chocolate bowl will remain................Sounds so easy right?  Well, I need some practise on this one, as mine is a disaster!!

Chocolate Bowl

NOTES:
First off if you dare to attempt this, make sure your chocolate is cooled off once melted as it will pop the balloon if it is to warm!!!  I speak from experience on this one...........as you can see from the photos there is two different coloured balloons for this reason -- and melted chocolate splatters everywhere!!  But not to cool as it just globs down (like mine) instead of nice flowing steams as in the goal bowl.......

Second, do not let the balloon sit for a few day before popping it as I did.  You need the balloon to be "fresh" so when you poke it, it will actually POP!  Well, I waited til the next day and when I went to POP it -- it just deflated and took down the long chocolate fingers with it, ending up with a short stubby mess.......

Not sure if I will have enough time to try it out again this year or table it for next year to give it another go.  But I just love this look and you know I will attempt it again at some point.

Chocolate Bowl

If you dare to try this out let me know how it goes, any tips would be appreciated.

For complete instructions check out the professional work of art here:  How to make a chocolate bowl

Cheers!

Now that's Creative!

Throw Pillows - white with blue ribbons

I am still working on the final touches of our bedroom makeover.  The window seat turned out fantastic, but I never got around to making the throw pillows for it. 

I have all the fabric and pillows just need to find the time to sew them.  With Christmas fast approaching I have put it into high gear and I am determined to complete the project this week.

This is the first set of pillows I will be making.  They are white with a navy blue ribbon detailing.

After cutting the fabric into 4 rectangles, I cut the ribbon into strips and marked the fabric as to where I wanted them to go. 

I then used fusing tape to attach the ribbons to the front of the pillow fabric.

I decided to put zippers in all the pillows I make, as it just gives it that final touch and a more professional look.  Plus if you ever need to wash them it really makes it a breeze.

Here is a little trick I learned (I am not much of a sewer, so this was new to me, however, you might already know this), put the zipper in first on what ever side seam you decided then finish all the other seams up.

The ribbons took a lot longer than I thought they would, but I think the extra effort and time was well worth it.  The pillow on it's own was just to plain. 

Look how great they look on my window seat.

Now that's Creative!

Ok, is it to early to start our Christmas baking?  Well, I don't think it really matters because I am sure this will not last til then -- it is sooooooooo good!!!

I love trying new recipes and thought this one looked really good and would be great to package up for Christmas, so I gave it a go.

Start off by making the toffee.

I did not have a candy thermometer, so I was just hoping it would turn out.

Next I prepared the pan.

Reserved half of the pecans for the topping and chopped up all the chocolate (minus a few pieces that I enjoyed).

Once the toffee was done I poured it over the pecans in the pan, then sprinkled the chocolate pieces over it followed by the rest of the pecans.  Due to the high temperature of the toffee the chocolate melts nicely.

Once hardens break into pieces and enjoy!

I brought a batch to work (I use them as my testers for many things) and they all just loved it.  Then to my husband for the final test - he is a real chocolate and sweets lover and if he likes it, it's a keeper........well, he asked for second!!!

So, I will be making a few more batches before Christmas for sure, as this one is nearly gone.

Pecan Toffee

• Ingredients

  1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, divided
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 cup butter, softened 
• 1/3 cup water
• 5 (1.55-ounce) milk chocolate bars, broken into small pieces 

Preparation

1. Line a 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil; lightly grease foil. Sprinkle with 1 cup pecans to within 1 inch of edges.
2. Bring sugar, butter, and 1/3 cup water to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, 12 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 310° (hard crack stage). Pour over pecans; sprinkle with chocolate pieces. Let stand 30 seconds.
3. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Chill 30 minutes. Break up toffee using a mallet or rolling pin. Store in an airtight container.

You can go here for the complete recipe : http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pecan-toffee-10000000410629/

Now that's Creative!

Wall Decal 2 - Tree

Now that the Big Ben Clock wall decal worked out so good, I have been dieing to put up the tree we got for the kithen.  So last night we tackled it and I have to say is looks amazing! 

I have to say I was not sure of the colour when we were ordering it, but it is very close to the colour of the other walls in the kitchen and it really makes a statement.  Let me know what you all think.

Before..........

 And After............